Poli-416: REVOLUTION & POLITICAL

VIOLENCE

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TODAY’S AGENDAPop quiz

Overview of Colombian conflict

Paramilitaries and parapolitica

Colombia

Early Politics

Liberals Conservatives

All over Latin America, the new republics have elections between:

vs

Commercial

Weak church

Individual liberties

Strong church

Social order, tradition

Land

Elections in Colombia

In Colombia competition between these parties was very violent

Winning party in one election would attack supporters of losing party

Why so violent?

Today (USA):

Elect president

Congress

governors, mayors

Back then (Colombia):

Elect president

Congress

governors, mayors

“Winner-take-all”System

Lots of goodies to be given out

Use violence while in powerPay back for last electionCabinet, executive Cabinet, executive

The land problem

Land theft, land conflicts

rampant during the 20th century

If right party was in power, elites could take with

impunity

Self-defense militiasPeasants organize in enclaves to defend themselves,

most famously in the “Republic of Marquetalia”

Paramilitary groupsDozens of countries have either encouraged or allowed

the formation of paramilitary groups or private militias

Armed groups that receive either direct or indirect support from the state, typically to combat rebels

Paramilitary recruitment

Who typically joins a paramilitary group?

Victims of rebels (e.g., Colombia, Mexico, Peru)

Groups with interests threatened by rebels

Groups formed by state (e.g., Phillipines)

The paras: broad trajectorySmall self-defense groups

going back to 60s

Boost from drug cartels 1980s

Form coalition in 1990s

Demobilize (?) in early 2000sGroups today continue unclear/

mysterious (“Black Eagles”)

Colombian paramilitaries

Base of support?

Victims (e.g., ranchers forced to

pay “war tax”)

Drug traffickers

The military Carlos Castaño, Founder of AUC

Drug-traffickers and paramilitaries

At first, guerrillas extort/“protect” drug-traffickers (why them?)

Eventually go from “guarding” fields —> making coca paste (why?)

Brings them into conflict with cartels M-19 kidnap daughter of the Ochoas

(as seen in Narcos)

Why do this?

Benefits Costs

“deal with the devil” to defeat insurgency

Bodies Domestic costs

Local knowledge

“Monopoly of violence”

Principal-agent

problems

Indiscriminate violence

???

The monopoly of violence

What is a “state”?

Max Weber, Sociologist

“Only entity that lays claim to the monopoly on the legitimated use of physical force. However, this

monopoly is limited to a certain geographical area, and in fact this limitation to a particular area is one of the

things that defines a state."

Can rebel groups be “states" in the areas

they control?

Closing the can of worms

Countries that give up "monopoly of violence” often have to wrestle it back from militias

Competing “states”

Allowing non-state armed actors to govern makes winning over locals more difficult

“shared risk”

Hearts and minds

What if paramilitaries do a better job? States may find themselves competing for

legitimacy

Principal-agent problems

One actor (principal) hires another (agent) to do some task

Agent makes decisions that impact principal, but principal knows less/cannot monitor agent

(informational asymmetry)

What’s the PA problem here?

Involvement in drugs, excessive violence, etc.

Parapolitica

In 2000s, paramilitaries become involved in electoral politics

What’s the quid pro quo here?

Deliver votes (how? And where?)

Common enemy

Demobilization

MoneyCommon enemy

Not just 2000s

Protest against killing of leftist social leaders in Colombia

1988: Colombia begins electing mayors, Wave of violence against left parties

Even if against the interest of the state, individual politicians might strike deals with armed groups

Not just Colombia

Why doesn’t the FARC do this?

Acemoglu et., al: FARC has national ambitions, paras don’t

At some point, group too threatening to state and collusion is not credible

Does this make sense?

The ELN also influences elections in Arauca, where it is powerful

Threaten/kill candidates Collude with officials

Open question: Why do armed groups get involved in

some elections but not others?

Recap

Colombia has a long history of non-state armed actors exerting influence

State faces trade-off in relying on paramilitaries

Even if state doesn’t want to collude, individual politicians can

Parapolitica: trade of votes for support with consequences still visible today